A Honolulu company that brought Jamba Juice to Hawaii has sold the smoothie store chain to the local owners of Hawaii Jack in the Box restaurants.
The sale by JJC Hawaii LLC to Blue Pacific Juice LLC involves 32 Jamba Juice stores statewide.
A purchase price was not disclosed.
The two companies expect a smooth transition and continued expansion for the operation employing roughly 600 people.
Local real estate development firm The MacNaughton Group formed JJC Hawaii to open Hawaii’s first Jamba Juice store in partnership with California-based Jamba Juice Co. in 1999.
Jamba Juice Co. was established in 1990 as Juice Club and today has about 800 stores around the world owned by the company or by independent owners through licensing and franchise arrangements.
Under the Hawaii partnership, JJC Hawaii owned 95 percent of the local stores and Jamba Juice Co. owned 5 percent. Blue Pacific’s purchase included both stakes, giving the company complete ownership of the stores.
Dean McPhail, CEO of JJC Hawaii, said in a statement that he is confident the new owners will make a positive transition.
Blue Pacific is headed by Chris Scanlan and Eddie Park, who own and operate 27 Jack in the Box restaurants in Hawaii.
Scanlan, a fast-food company veteran who once headed Hawaii’s largest operator of franchised Burger King and KFC restaurants, bought 25 Jack in the Box restaurants in 2006 from the chain’s California-based parent company for $19 million.
Scanlan said in a statement that he and Park have been fans of Jamba Juice for nearly a decade and are thrilled to add the chain to their restaurant holdings.
"We believe there is tremendous potential to continue to grow the Jamba brand in Hawaii and build upon the strong brand that has been created," he said.